anita līcis-ribak's blog

What Matters About Photography?

I'd never asked myself this question before. But the theme and the title of an upcoming photography show - What Matters About Photography? - at the Vermont Center for Photography made me ponder.  Where do I even begin?  There are innumerable ways in which photography matters - to me.  This is what I wrote in a short essay that accompanied my submission for this annual juried exhibition, and that only begins the conversation for me: 

The most beautiful thing we can experience is the mysterious, Albert Einstein once said.

 Photography allows me to dwell on, to capture, and to share with others what I see as the immeasurable and the mysterious in our lives - be that a child’s face as she relishes the feel of her fingers sinking in the warm fur of the cat’s belly;  or the stillness of time, void of space and sound, as I watch my husband quietly fight for his life; or the pattern of light, flowing outward through a tobacco barn’s open slats, like outstretched wings of a gigantic bird about to take off into the dark winter night; or the way the world suddenly  arranges itself, just this one time, just right here, in front of me...  I am reminded, time and again, in these plentiful moments of witnessing life’s mysteries, to remember life.  Memento Vita - paraphrasing the ageless wisdom of the Ancient Romans.

 I am very excited to announce that three of my photographs - Raiija and Runka, Accordionists, and an Untitled from 30 Days in Spring Series were accepted for the show.  You may already be familiar with the faces of Railija and Runka, and of the Accordionists, both of which were on display in Amherst in Northampton this past winter.  I haven't yet however shown any photographs from the 30 Days in Spring series.  These document Agus's quiet and willful fight with cancer last April, 2010.  I am both nervous and thrilled to have one of them on display in this upcoming show.  

Please come to the opening reception this Friday, April 1 in Brattleboro, VT.  See more information below.  And no, it is not an April fool's joke! :-)

THIS MONTH AT VCP...APRIL 2011... WHAT MATTERS ABOUT PHOTOGRAPHY- A JURIED EXHIBITION ...April 1-May 1, 2011  Nancy Weber, En El Campo-Mexico, archival digital print, 2011     Elsa Voelcker, Grampie Caning a Chair, silver gelatin print, 1970      Judy Unger-Clark, Three Kids on a Beach, hand colored silver gelatin composite print, 1991   An excerpt from an VCP newsletter:   In April 2011, the Vermont Center for Photography will present a juried exhibit titled, What Matters About Photography. We hope that by exploring what matters with images and writing we will get to some kind of understanding of photography's place in the world of ideas and art. What Matters About Photography will feature work by Elsa Voelcker, Susan Lirakis, Andrew Strattner, Paul Osborne & Catherine Davis, Corey Stein, Michael Stoudt, Andrew Hodgdon, Heidi Haner, Cheryl Willoughby, Liza Mindemann, Paula Sagerman, Donald David, Jerry Reed, Liz LaVorgna, Bernie Kubiak, Kathleen Carr, Suzanne Flynt, Judy Unger-Clark, Ellen Madden, Betsy Feick, John Nopper, Cynthia Hughes, Anita Licis-Ribak, Bill Arduser, Nancy Weber, Doug Frank, Brent Seabrook, Andrea Powell, and Tim Ellis.   An opening reception will be held Friday, April 1, 2011, from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. during Brattleboro's Gallery Walk. The exhibit will be on view through May 1.   GET INVOLVED! Please post your thoughts and photographic examples about what you think matters about photography on our wordpress blog at http://vcpwhatmatters.wordpress.com/.   Most works featured in the What Matters About Photography exhibition are for sale.  Please contact the gallery manager at info@vcphoto.org or 802-251-6051 for more information.